A whale watcher keeps a count of how many whales she sees each day. On Monday, she saw $17$ whales. On Tuesday, she saw $33$ whales. What is the total number of whales she saw on Monday and Tuesday?
Solution: To find the ${\text{total}}$ number of whales, we start with the number that she saw on ${\text{Monday}}$, and add the number that she saw on ${\text{Tuesday}}$. $?$ $17$ $33$ Total whales Monday whales Tuesday whales ${17} + {33} = {\Box}$ Let's add to find the total number of whales. $$ $$ $$ ${+}$ $$ $$ $$ $$ ${=}$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ ${17} + {33} = {50}$ The whale watcher saw a total of ${50}$ whales on Monday and Tuesday.